A mixed (6) case of the 2005 Eric Kent "Dry Stack" and "Kalen's Big
Boy" Syrah blends. If you only buy a handful of Syrah-based
California wines this year, the E-Ks' should be near or at the top of
your list. $235/6 (Three of each)
We have a number of customers who have a standing order for as many
bottles of Eric Kent wines we're willing to sell em' upon each
release, Price is not an issue.
Three years ago we introduced our clientele to Eric Kent Wine Cellars,
a new, small, Sonoma County producer of hand-crafted,
vineyard-designate Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and Syrahs. Based on the
stunning quality of those first wines, the enthusiasm and energy
generated by the man who made them (Kent Humphrey) and his wife's
(Colleen Teitgen) eye for picking out the work of local artists to
grace the labels of each vintage, I felt it was no stretch to predict
a very successful future for their new venture.
Occasionally I get it right...
THIS is AMAZING...within those three short years the Eric Kent wines
have been picked by the Wine Spectator as one of the "Hot New Dozen"
producers with (Laube) scores of "94", "92" and "92" as well as the
COVER wine for the July '07 issue of the prestigious Connoisseur's
Guide ("94" points), FIRST in a flight of 12 ("91" points) in the
California Grapevine, a 4-Star rating in England's Decanter magazine
and a "90" point rating in BURGHOUND (and that dude's kind of brutal
to CA wines).
News of Syrah's death has been exaggerated...
There is no denying that Syrah sales have slowed in the last year. I
think there are several reasons for this which I would be glad to
discuss with you either in e-mail form or over the phone (I will not
bore you with my ideas in this pitch). Fortunately, many of the
states finest, small artisan producers have not been severely impacted
by the Syrah down-turn because of their inherent, pent up annual
demand and limited production. As Charles Olken stated so eloquently
in the November issue of the Connoisseur's Guide, "the days when Syrah
could skate by on its own standing as the new kid on the block are
gone...its time to explore what is really going on with Syrah, to tote
up its strengths and its weakness and to think about its future." To
back up his point, Olken put the Eric Kent Syrah on the cover of a
recent Syrah-focused issue of his respected periodical, rating it "94"
Points.
*2005 Eric Kent "Dry Stack" and "Big Boy Blend"
Kent dropped by this morning with his two fall releases from Bennett
Valley's Dry Stack Vineyards and his already famous "Big Boy Blend".
Both wines fare from the excellent 2005 vintage and both are ideal
representations of that excellent, cooler growing season. Humphrey
makes (relatively) tiny amounts of wine and essentially pre-sells
every case prior to release. We are fortunate to receive a relatively
generous allocation of the "Dry Stack" and "Big Boy" reds especially
considering their micro-production numbers (175 & 200 cases
respectively) and national demand which has been generated by the
crazy favorable press over the last 36 months. Because of the huge
demand and limited availability I decided to offer the fall 2005 Eric
Kent wines in a 6-bottle case form, 3 bottles of each.
*This is the third vintage of the Dry Stack. The warm '03 and '04
vintages were big, ripe, full bodied and powerful wines with tons of
forward fruit flavors and superb length. If one were to examine the
wines with a white glove, I suppose it could be said that they were a
bit gangly in their extroverted personality and hungry puppy
character. (This is of course, the natural result of making wine with
very ripe, intensely flavored fruit). The 2005s' are more composed,
still VERY fruit-driven and extremely rich in character but a little
more "grown up" than their earlier counterparts. If the 2004s' wore
Jeans, T-shirts, Denim jackets and leather boots than the 2005s' are
dressed in blazers with starched shirts, pressed slacks and shined
shoes.
*Kent says "Aromas of cherries, dark plum and tobacco invite you in,
followed by a palate of lively cherry infused with darker fruit
undertones, a touch of smoky cedar and a silky, elegant mouth-feel.
Delicious now, (with 1-2 hours of decanting) the balance of fruit and
acidity is delightful, making this a wine that should age wonderfully
for years to come".
*"91"/RC..."Bottled in January of 2007, released last month, this wine
is a composed glass of bright black cherry, blueberry, apricot and
licorice root framed by sweet oak and a fistful of sweet baking spice
and vanilla. There is a touch of the classic Syrah gaminess in the
back of the palate along with integrated oak and cedar flavors however
the fruit plays a leading role in this wine. A champion in the
middleweight class. The finish is sweet and beautifully balanced.
*The Connoisseur's Guide said of the Dry Stack..."Exhibits the mass
and full-scale fruit that we look for in a fine Syrah, it does so with
an uncanny sense of polish and impression of palatal plush-ness that
makes it doubly appealing. Its themes of sweet blackberries are
enriched with creamy oak and accented with nice touches of violets and
black pepper, and it shows a keen sense of overall balance...big, but
so graceful that it can be enjoyed now yet has the stuff to grow for
four or five years".
*2005 Sonoma county Kalen's Big Boy Blend...True to the spirit of its
name, the 2005 must have a big personality. That said, the cooler '05
vintage added a splash of refinement to this high-spirited bottling as
well. Poured side-by-side with the Dry Stack the two wines look like
a small portion of the Electro-Magnetic Spectrum going from
red/purple-blue to deep purple/blue-black. Only 2,100 bottles made
for the entire world.
Kent says "Inky dark in the glass, the nose offers up a rich, black
fruit, black and white pepper, a faint tease of eucalyptus and fertile
earth tones. Then a sip unleashes dark cherry, pomegranate, black
licorice and cola all lovingly embraced by fine, sweet tannins. While
a tad of patience will handsomely be rewarded, if you decide to open
one sooner rather than later, a brisk decanting and a couple hours on
the table will enhance its youthful charms.
Connoisseur's Guide says "This dramatic, mouth-filling wine with its
well-chosen moniker makes no pretense to grace or finesse. It is very
rich and long on ripeness but manages to be fruity and has the right
kind of extract to buffer its heat. Its sensations of peppery spice,
smoke and sweet oak serve as attractive seasonings to its central
themes of very ripe berries, and it stays the course to the finish
despite ample tannins". The Big Boy is a brute, a contender for the
heavyweight crown.
The Artists featured on the 2005 Dry Stack and Big Boy are Neil Seth
Levine and Roy Tomlinson. The Dry Stack label sports a magnificent
"scanned" image (no traditional photographic equipment was used in
making the final print) of a deep, red rose with intricate, natural
petal cluster patterns exploding from the center of the bud out to the
perimeter of the flower. (Hey! don't laugh, it's tough to describe)
The Big Boy is made from an old film print which has been weathered.
It kind of looks like what you see at the end of a film feel when the
last frame passes across the lens of the projector just before the
screen goes to white light. (Ditto)
*2005 Eric Kent Reds/Fall Release-$235. /Case of 6 (3 each)
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